Unit 1: LO1

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Finance:
Sources of
finance

Type

Importance

Equipment
Transport
Talent
Crew
Materials
Facility hire

Sourcing

Importance
To obtain finance, it is important to have a budget for a production
to understand the full cost before production starts. Then, if finance
for full amount is not available, it is possible to look to reduce costs
in areas. Some people may give time for free, but there will always
be a cost for sourcing most of the above. For example, crew may
need to be friends and colleagues to reduce costs.
Once the required budget for production is set, finance can be sort
for the production. Having clear understanding and details helps
and potential financer understand the costs. Sources of finance can
be specialised film financers, friends & relatives, loans from
banks.
Having fianc in place before production starts, allows producer to
know that the money will be available to pay for Equipment used
such as Cameras, tripods, green screen, lighting and sound.
Otherwise, some of the items may require changing, such as
location, and transport to location, if the money is not fully secured.
Professional or semi-professional talent might be used for filming,
which increases the cost, but potentially increases quality of a
production. Crew will also be needed such as cameraman,
soundman lighting engineer researchers editors and runners in
order to produce a professional looking production.
Once all is complete facilities such as editing suits and
postproduction equipment will be needed and these need to
factored into the budget for the requested financing.
Sourcing
Crew
Crew can be sourced trough websites such as
Creative England
http://www.creativeengland.co.uk/index.php/portfolio/location
Facility
productionsupport/
Editing suits such as Dynamic post Production
http://www.dynamicpost.co.uk/index.php/finalcutprosuites/
Materials
can be hired for 350 per day. This will include the
editor and sound engineer.
Materials can be sourced from high street shops,
Transport
retail outlets or studio Props departments

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Transport can be sourced via Transport for London
http://www.tfl.gov.uk, National Rail
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk, hertz car hire or local
taxi/bu
Type
Time:

Deadlines
Availability of equipment
Availability of personnel
(size of team; roles)

Importan
ce

Sourcin
g

Importance
Deadlines are extremely important for a variety of reasons. Delays
to any part of a production adds cost to the production and
potentially unavailability of key resources (actors or hired
equipment). Setting deadlines to each part of the production is key
are the start of any film. Allocating time to each phase allows
understanding of when items/people are required and deliver the
final production on schedule to ultimately the customer (whether
commercial or even a college deadline). There can be penalties for
returning equipment late, for example London Video Camera Hire
charge daily rate for each day late which can be triple a weekly
rate (see T&Cs page from London Videos Camera Hire link below.
Therefore, it is important to stick to the stage deadlines, if hired
equipment is used. Otherwise, the finance obtained for filming may
not be enough to complete all the elements of the production.
Making sure the right equipment is available for the right stage in
the filming schedule is key. If a key piece of equipment, for example
slo-mo camera isnt available while filming a key sequence that
may need to be delayed which can have knock on effects to
availability of personnel etc.
Availability of personnel, whether technical (camera operator, sound
etc) to the actors is key. Getting the team committed to a fixed
timescale allows the work to be completed. On delays key personnel
may already be committed to other film work and not be available.
Sourcing
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-art-of-scheduling-afilm.html overviews good habits on scheduling a production.
http://www.filmmakingstuff.com/deadlines-in-filmmaking
Information of types of deadlines in film making.
http://bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/production/cast-andcrew BBC overview of cast and crew for productions.
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http://www.londonvideocamerahire.co.uk). Gives examples of equipment
that can be sourced, including crews, if required. The T&Cs link
gives overiew of the penalties for returning equipment late which is
charged at the high daily rate for any equipment.
See http://www.highspeedhire.co.uk/ for information on an example high
speed capture company
Type
Facilities:

Production equipment
Post-production equipment
facility houses

Importan
ce

Sourcin
g

Importance
It is important to have the right tools for the job in hand. Especially
items such as the lighting and sound recording equipment so that
the filming time is not wasted and the production time well used.
Production equipment goes from the cameras down to the memory
cards. It is important to have enough memory storage to be able to
keep all the footage and not have to shift footage onto computers
during the filming.
Post production equipment allows the best to be made from the raw
footage. By using post production facilities it can be much quicker to
complete post production due to the very high speed computers etc
which would to too expensive for a production team to normally use

Sourcing
http://www.maniacfilms.com for production equipment rental
http://studiohire.com for hire of studios and associated equipment
http://www.xstratek.com for hire of post production facilities
http://www.motivproductions.co.uk for equipment facility houses
http://www.bbcstudiosandpostproduction.com for BBC studios and
production facitities available for hire.

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Type
Materials:

Original materials,
Archive and library
materials
Photo-library materials
Sound library materials,
Internet
Audio
Script (upload an
example)
Interviews
Costumes

Importan
ce

Sourcin
g

Importance
It is important to have original material because an audience is
expecting something new which is something they have not seen
before. Using other material can lead to copyright infringement and
accusations of plagiarism.
This does not mean there is no place for archive or library materials
which are useful for scene setting, flashbacks, historical value
and comparisons. The use of photo/sound libraries are also a good
source of items which may be difficult to source for a production
such as an owl sound effect. It may also be possible to source
sound/photo material from the internet.
The script (or screenplay) is key to any production. Without a
gripping, interesting story, it is difficult to produce a gripping,
interesting production! Time taken developing the idea and having a
great script can also help in funding any production.
Costumes and scene materials are important for realism in any
scene. Sourcing correct costumes for drama pieces and making sure
all items are appropriate for that era is critical to successfully
portraying an era. Even modern productions need costumes to
help an audience identify someone character
Sourcing
Original material is filmed by the director but archive footage can be
found for productions at:
http://www.shutterstock.com/video1
http://www.fruitmedia.co.uk
for aerial filming stock footage, this can be found at:
www.skyworks.co.uk
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For high quality production music for TV, Film, Advertising and
Corporate Video. Pre-cleared for worldwide and multi-platform use
(ie copyright allowed) music for films, TV:
http://www.audionetwork.com/
Type
Locations:

Recces (Upload an
example)
Limitations and risks:
Distance, access, cost,
weather

Importan
ce

Sourcin
g

Importance
Recces refers to a pre-filming visit to a location to work out its
suitability for shooting and is closely related to location scouting.
Checking out a location is vital to make sure there are no potential
issues before taking expensive equipment, people etc to a site. It
can be very costly to find a days filming wasted due to an
unexpected problem with a location.
Potential items to assess during a recces include:
Access to necessary facilities (toilets, food)
Assessment of any potential lighting or sound issues (no
background industrial sounds or trains etc)
Power sources (may need generator or extra batteries etc)
Access to site (how can kit get to site, vehicle access)
Test shots to access the lighting and location
Health & Safety assessment. No potential risks of harm on the site.
Limitations and risks of a location can be:
Distance may take time to get equipment to site and setup, which
increases costs and reduces filming time.
Access good access allows quick setup time and allows people and
items to quickly be put in place.
Cost there may be charges to using a location
The right location can add hugely to the visuals of any film and
therefore the careful selection must be done, and the cost to use,
and get to, factored into any overall budget.
Sourcing
The following two sites give an overview of the use of reccees for
productions:
http://screenhi.co.uk/production/recce
http://www.44-16.com/how-important-are-location-recces/
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Example of Recce
http://www.slideshre.net/belair1981/recce-example-2558955
Locations in the UK which can be used for filming:
http://www.shootfactory.co.uk/
Location library:
http://www.amazingspace.co.uk/

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Type
Codes of
practice and
regulation:

Location permissions
Clearances
Copyright
Health and safety
Insurance

Importan
ce

Sourcin
g

Importance
It is always important that any shoot is both legal and that everyone
on the set is kept safe during the filming.
Location permissions should be sought. Even street filming may
require permission in some parts of the country. London has
different rules for each borough, and each borough has its own BFS
(Borough Film Service) which should be checked before any filming.
When filming on the street if it causes, disturbances, obstruction,
noise, nuisance, damage, fire or a health and safety hazard, it could
be breaking the law. It is a crimimal offense to trespass on railway
propery, electricity sub stations, military installations.
With more and more UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) being used
for filming the laws on operating such drones is becoming stricter.
If a company or individual is operating their Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle (UAV) commercially (which the Civil Aviation
Authority defines as getting any kind of valuable consideration for
your work) then their aircraft must be registered with the CAA and
have a permit for aerial work.
There are many type of insurance required for a shoot. Public
liability insurance protects you if clients or members of the public
suffer personal injury or property damage because of your business.
Equipment needs to be covered for loss or accidental damage.
Copyright occurs automatically when a script is created, however,
proving the date created can be more difficult. One myth is that
mailing a script to yourself will prove the date and copyright. One
can also copyright other elements in a film like character design and
images.
Copyright ownership of a film is the producer and principal director.
However, if they are employed, the employer is presumed to be the
first owner of the copyright.
Health and safety is key to keeping people safe on sets. Each
country has its own set of legislation governing health and safety,
so UK Health & Safety laws may be different from other country laws
and should be checked

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Sourcing
Location Permissions
http://filmlondon.org.uk/get-permission-film filming in London
permission in London, whether public or private.
Clearances:
http://www.caa.co.uk/ Details on registering UAV and operating
them.
Copyright:
http://copyrightuser.org/filmmaker/ Copyright details and overview
of filming
https://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law
UK copyright law
http://ipo.gov.uk/gov
Health & Safety:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/theatre-tv/index.htm Health
and safety laws in the UK
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/production/healt
h-and-safety BBC guide to film health & safety
Insurance:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/theatre-tv/index.htm
Insurance
http://www.filminsurance.co.uk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmmaking/guide/production/insurance

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Type
Regulatory
bodies:
Importance

Importan
ce

Sourcin
g

Ofcom

Ofcom is the communications regulator in the UK. It includes TV,

Radio, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services and the
airwaves.
Ofcom provides guidance and rules for broadcasting. This includes
items such as:

What is or isnt allowed for filming public and secretly filming

people without their consent.
Protecting under 18 year olds in broadcasting
Use of product placement and logos in broadcasting
Standards for material likely to encourage or incite crime or
lead to disorder

http://ofcom.org.uk
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/broadcastcodes/broadcast-code/

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Type
Trade
unions:

Importan
ce

Sourcin
g

Cinematograph and
Theatre Union (BECTU)

Importance
BECTU was formed in 1991 and is the UKs media and
entertainment trade union. It has around 25,000 members and is
financed by these individual members. As a trade union, it
represents its members and collectively represents its members.
Aiming to protecting its members and increasing benefits. It also
gives members somewhere to complain, if they believe a company
is not adhering to rules (for example Health & Safety).
Members of the trade union have a range of benefits and support in
the work place such as legal services and low-cost insurance, if
employed in the industry. It also runs events and training courses
aimed at employees working in the industry.
http://www.bectu.org.uk

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Type
Trade
associations:

Importan
ce

Sourcin
g

British Interactive Media

Association (BIMA)

Importance
The British Interactive Media Association (BIMA) have set out four
key items for why they exist:

To
To
To
To

support and promote the British digital industry

share knowledge and best practice
reward great work
encourage the next generation

It was formed in 1985 and actively discusses the British digital

industry with government, leading industry players and globally
champions the UK multimedia industry.
It has wide membership. With individual and company members
from all sectors of the market, BIMA provides ways to keep up with
developments in the sector. BIMA provides access to market data
and intelligence through links with government departments,
professional bodies and holds regular talks and conferences on key
industry issues
http://bima.co.uk

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